Avista’s fleet department steers toward an even greener future

Avista has a long tradition of being a wise steward of the environment. Recently, the Fleet Department aligned those goals when it comes to the vehicles we purchase.

“We are currently underway with a CNG (Compressed Natural Gas) initiative where we’re purchasing approximately 10-15 CNG Bi-Fuel vehicles a year,” said Fleet Manager, Chris Schlothauer. “Along with the vehicles, our existing CNG fueling infrastructure is currently being updated with bigger and better stations. These stations will accommodate our increased load from company-owned vehicles, along with the ability to provide this alternative fuel to the public at some point in the future.”

The latest addition to Avista’s alternative fuel fleet is a hybrid service truck that was built for Spokane Electric Line Operations.

The hybrid technology in this unit is a Jobsite Energy Management System. How it works: When the truck arrives at the worksite, the operator engages the Power Take-off (PTO) as normal but instead of the engine continuing to run, the engine is shut off and batteries provide the power to run the hydraulics in the boom. If the system gets below a certain voltage, the engine will automatically turn on to recharge the batteries and then will shut off again to go back on stored battery power. This is a particularly important feature, because operating on battery power, it will have very little noise impact in the residential neighborhoods where it typically works long hours.

“We’re very excited to implement both of these alternative fuel technologies in our fleet, said Schlothauer. “Both the CNG and hybrid technology help us in reducing our carbon emissions along with saving fuel dollars over the long run. As we continue to move forward, we’ll look at other alternative fuel opportunities that align with Avista’s focus on sustainable business practices and environmental stewardship, along with the operational benefits to the departments that use them.”

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